Ryan'sWay
Service Before Self
Ryan Trejchel
1999 - 2021
Service Before Self
Ryan always thought of everyone else before himself. He could often be found helping out family, friends, and neighbors. He provided weekly assistance to a disabled gentleman by helping him shop and take care of his house. But most importantly Ryan took time to talk to him. That was the thing that set Ryan apart from most people, he would make time for others. Whether it was taking time to listen to someone having a bad day, or stopping along the road to change someone's tire. He constantly made things better for other people.
As a medic in the Army National Guard he was deployed to help COVID patients in nursing homes to relieve the overworked staff. Another deployment had him administering COVID vaccines in the effort to stop the pandemic. As an EMT for Millcreek Paramedic he continued helping others.
One November a neighbor asked Ryan if he could help him with some outside work that he needed done. The neighbor said he would pay an agreed upon amount. Ryan accepted, but he asked the neighbor if his friend could also help, and he would split the money with his friend. This friend had a young son and Ryan knew that he needed money to buy his son a Christmas gift. They worked all day in the rain and stopped when it was too dark to see. They weren't quite finished so Ryan went back the next day and finished the job. When he got home I asked him how much the neighbor had paid him but he never really answered me. I later found out through, another of Ryan's friends that he didn't make anything—he had given all the money to his friend so that he could buy his son a nicer gift.
So... Do something for someone else. Pay it forward when someone else does something for you. You may be surprised on how good it will make you feel!
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
